There is an appealing background to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which gambling den gambling is against the law. Eight gambling dens are established in a generally small space in the municipality of Poipet in Cambodia. This collection of Cambodia gambling halls is in a perfect area, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two most popular wagering centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a thriving business with Thai laborers and tourists from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The amazing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to more than 12.5 million dollars, and there are a few limitations requirements for casino ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; still, financing sources are ambiguous. The borders are ceremoniously open from 9:00 a.m. to 17:00, and despite the fact visas are apparently necessary to pass, there are methods around this, as is true of many borders.
The original Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in 1998, leaving only one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, an anchored boat gambling den, features 150 slots and 60 table games. The Naga gambling den never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, 4 tables of 21, ten of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The initial gambling hall in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in the late nineties and the Golden Crown soon followed. A total of one hundred and fifty slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slots and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort contains three hundred one armed bandits and seventy table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has 166 one armed bandits and 96 gaming tables, including 87 baccarat banque (the most dominant game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Also, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five slot machine games and 66 of the familiar table games, as well as a single table of Casino Stud Poker. One more of the eight casinos in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 97 games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that features many comforts accompanying the gambling hall, which provides ten thousand sq.ft. of 130 slot machine games and eighty eight table games.